Well, with Spring Break behind us, we’re clearly on the downhill slide to the end of the school year. But how?! My second grader just started his first day of preschool yesterday, y’all — I swear it. And now he’s almost a third grader! Some days my heart just can’t deal with how quickly these kiddos are growing up…

But it’s a fact. 2015 is already flying by at warp speed. And as the school year winds down, everyone is feeling pretty worn out and run down. The kids. The teachers. The parents {insert hand raised emoji}. But c’mon y’all…let’s rally! Yes, we may be feeling drained of all energy and creativity already, but it’s not even April…no need to throw in the towel just yet! What we do need is an easy recipe to revitalize breakfast time while also standing in as a protein-packed, energy-boosting snack. And I offer you that recipe today…these easy, breezy, Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites!

Have you tried energy bites before? They’re similar to no-bake granola bars, but rolled into snack-able, pop-able little balls. There are lots of variations out there, but my goal was to make these taste similar to an oatmeal cookie…and I think I succeeded!

These energy bites take mere minutes to throw together using just a handful of ingredients, including uncooked oats, ground nuts, raisins, peanut butter, honey, and a few cookie-like flavorings…namely, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Once all of those ingredients are nice and combined, simply roll the resulting mixture into little balls to enjoy right away or store in the fridge. They’re great for getting out of a breakfast rut, or as a new and exciting snack…but my favorite use for them is putting one in each of my boys’ lunchboxes. They’re not allowed to have chocolate or candy in their school lunches, so it’s nice to be able to slip a wholesome and “acceptable” sweet treat in there for a little something special.

The best part of these energy bites is that they’re totally customizable! The first thing you can change up is swapping the peanut butter for almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or your favorite variety of nut (or non-nut) butter. You can also switch up the type of nut that you use. I’ve made these with cashews, pecans, and almonds…all yummy! The nuts are ground up, so even though you don’t bite into big chunks of them, using different types of nut does subtly affect the ultimate flavor.

Substituting various dried fruit is another way to customize these energy bites. Raisins may be the traditional accent for oatmeal cookies, but I often prefer using dried cranberries instead. And I recently spied a bag of dried cherries in the back of the pantry, which were also a delightful complement to the oatmeal cookie-like spices.

However you may decide to customize them, I hope you have a chance to try these no-bake Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites soon! Whether you enjoy them as a portable breakfast-on-the-go, an afternoon pick-me-up, or a no-guilt-necessary sweet treat any time of day, they’re guaranteed to boost your energy while tickling your tastebuds…and that energy is exactly what you’ll need to get through these last 44 or so days of school. (But who’s counting?) 😉 Enjoy!

In a food processor or blender, pulse nuts until finely ground (but stop before they start turning to nut butter!). In a large bowl, combine ground nuts, oats, raisins, peanut butter, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well until completely blended (if possible, use an electric stand mixer to make it quicker/easier to fully incorporate the peanut butter and honey). Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to scoop mixture and roll into 1-inch balls (or whatever size you would like them). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

You may use dried cranberries or your favorite dried fruit instead of raisins, but if the pieces are large, dice up first.

If the mixture does not stick together when you pinch it together, you may stir in a tad more peanut butter. If it's too sticky, you may roll it into balls using slightly damp hands or refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

https://fivehearthome.com ~ All recipes and images on Five Heart Home are copyright protected. Please do not use without my permission. If you would like to feature this recipe, please rewrite the directions in your own words and give proper attribution by linking back to this blog.

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This looks so good! I just pinned it to my cleaner eating folder on Pinterest. I need to make these SOON!!! I bet the kids would love them, too. Your photography is just beautiful, it really makes me want to make these even more.

Wonderful! We used Sunbutter (peanut allergies), omitted nuts, but everything else was spot on! Will be tripling this recipe in the future, as my 5 year old gobbled up a third of them as soon as they hit the wax paper!

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Hi, I’m Samantha . . .

a busy wife and tired mama of two energetic boys and a sweet little girl living in Texas. I love cooking, writing, eating queso, watching college football, and taking way too many pics of my kids. In my “spare” time, I run this food blog and I wrote a cookbook. The days are crazy but the love is plenty between the five hearts that make up our home! (click for more)